Mechanical failure behind Hawkeye crash, Navy finds

Mechanical failure, not pilot error, caused the crash of a Navy E-2C Hawkeye aircraft in the Arabian Sea in March that killed its pilot, a Navy investigation has found.

The pilot, Lt. Miroslav "Steve" Zilberman, shut down one of the twin-turboprop plane's engines after it lost oil pressure.

He then stayed at the controls, fighting to keep the plane airborne as the other three crew members bailed out.

Zilberman went down with the plane about five miles from its destination, the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, on a return flight from a mission over Afghanistan.

Normally, a twin-turboprop is capable of flying with just one engine. In this case, according to the Navy's investigation, the pilot was unable to keep the plane aloft because of an unfeathered propeller.

When an engine is shut down, the standard procedure is to feather its propeller, meaning to immobilize it with the blades parallel to the line of flight. Feathering the propeller keeps it from windmilling, or turning in the wind, which increases drag on the aircraft.

Five prescribed methods of feathering the propeller, electrically and mechanically, all failed, the investigation found.

Zilberman had flown three successful single-engine approaches to the Eisenhower in the year before the fatal crash, so "it is unlikely that pilot was a causal factor in this mishap," the investigator wrote.

No punitive or administrative actions were recommended against any of the crew members.

The investigator did recommend that the Navy develop simulator software that would allow aviators to train for flying an aircraft with a propeller that has failed to feather.

A similar incident occurred in February 2008, when a propeller failed to feather during an engine shutdown and led to an emergency landing of an E-2C Hawkeye at Norfolk Naval Station.

There was only one minor injury, but the aircraft incurred major damage.

The E-2C Hawkeye, manufactured by Northrop Grumman Corp., has been a Navy workhorse since its introduction in 1973.

With its distinctive 24-foot radar mounted atop the fuselage, it conducts long-range surveillance for carrier battle groups. Each Hawkeye costs about $51 million.

According to the Naval Safety Center, the Hawkeye's accident rate was comparable to the Navy's overall flight mishap rate between 2002 and 2008.

The Ukrainian-born Zilberman, 31, was described by fellow aviators as happy and upbeat - more so than usual in the weeks leading up to the crash because of his upcoming reassignment to the Navy's Training Squadron 10 in Pensacola, Fla.

The three surviving crew members were plucked from the water within minutes of bailing out.

Zilberman was declared dead after a three-day search by Navy ships and aircraft.

He is survived by his wife, Katrina, of Virginia Beach and their two children.

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Welcome to the discussion.

No name-calling, personal insults or threats. No attacks based on
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